Scientists have finally evolved a new strategy to starve the HIV to death by simply blocking its nutrient and sugar pipeline.
The human immunodeficiency virus or HIV, which infects at least 50,000 people every year, has a weakness and the researchers on Northwestern University have posted a great review which could eventually lead to an end to HIV transmissions.
Stopping HIV has not been quiet successful until recent history. However, that does not imply that there are no new promising developments being made in this direction. One such new development in particular is incredibly innovation, Pioneer News noted.
According to a new study, researchers have found a new way to block the virus from feeding on sugar in a person's bloodstream and this is killing it off.
Study author Harry Taylor explained, "This compound can be the precursor for something that can be used in the future as part of a cocktail to treat HIV that improves on the effective medicines we have today."
HIV needs to grow in a specific type of immune cell i.e. CD4+ T-cell, the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine assistant professor in Medicine-Infectious Diseases explains.
"It is essential to find new ways to block HIV growth, because the virus is constantly mutating. A drug targeting HIV that works today may be less effective a few years down the road, because HIV can mutate itself to evade the drug," he added.
Though current HIV medications do not affect abnormal excess activation and immune cell growth triggered by HIV, it can in fact stop HIV growth.
Dr. Richard D'Aquila of the Northwestern University HIV Translation Research Center said, "This discovery opens new avenues for further research to solve today's persisting problems in treating HIV infection: avoiding virus resistance to medicines, decreasing the inflammation that leads to premature aging, and maybe even one day being able to cure HIV infection."
"It's a monster that invades the cell and says 'feed me!'" Taylor further noted.
"Perhaps this new approach, which slows the growth of the immune cells, could reduce the dangerous inflammation and thwart the life-long persistence of HIV."
Researchers from Northwestern and Vanderbilt University have developed a compound in order to block the immune cell's pipeline of sugar and other nutrients and realized that the virus was incapable of reproducing under the less than sweet conditions.
This treatment has held nutrition from harmful cells leaving the healthy cells alone.
As soon as HIV enters the bloodstream of a person, it first searches for the CD4+T-cells, which are basically the administrators of the immune system. Once it locates the cells, it starts stealing their glucose supply and uses it to replicate, according to The Silver Ink.
"It's a monster that invades the cell and says 'feed me!, it usurps the entire production line," Taylor said.
He added, "Perhaps this new approach, which slows the growth of the immune cells, could reduce the dangerous inflammation and thwart the life-long persistence of HIV."
The findings of the study on possible HIV treatment are published on an online research journal, PLOS Pathogens.
